15 Healthy Recipes Which Will Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth

Healthy food. It’s something that we’re all trying to eat more of whilst still doing our best to avoid. When what’s really good for us doesn’t taste like a grilled cheese sandwich, it can be pretty hard to stomach and even though we try our best, we still find ourselves wallowing in chocolate wrappers and sinking in buckets of fries.

Fear not, my friend. Your days of tasteless, healthy food are over because there’s a whole load of recipes out there which will not only do your waistline a favor but also taste amazing. It turns out, you can have your cake and eat it and it will make you look completely smokin’.

Almond Butter Stuffed Dates

If I had it my way, all dates would come with a mandatory butter side dish. Whilst these stuffed dates won’t keep you warm at night, they sure will conquer your sweet-tooth cravings in less than 30 seconds.

You’ll need:

Dates, Nut butter and Cocoa powder for dusting

To prepare:

Slice open as many dates as you want (it’s best to eat them fresh). Fill each date with a generous teaspoon of almond butter and dust with cocoa powder.

Chilli and Beetroot Brownies

It turns out, you can have chocolate without all of the guilt. This brownie recipe is incredibly rich, satisfying and packs all the punch of a chocolate fountain. Check out the recipe here and get cookin’.

You’ll need:

1 cup of buckwheat flour (200g), 2 bananas (300g), 1 small beetroot (80g), 12 tablespoons of maple syrup, 8 tablespoons of raw cacao powder, 3 tablespoons of coconut oil, 4 tablespoons of chia seeds with 10 tablespoons of water (soak for 10 mins) and 2 tbsp chili flakes

To prepare:

Start by pre-heating the oven to 390°F. Then place the beetroot in a baking tray and place the tray in the oven. Let the beet cook for about an hour, until the skin can be easily peeled off. At this point remove it from the oven and allow it to cool.

Once it’s cooled, peel the skin off and place the beet in a food processor with the all the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. If you’re adding cacao nibs, goji berries or raisins stir them in now. Turn the oven down to 350°F

Line a baking tray with coconut oil and then evenly spread the mixture. Bake for about twenty minutes.

Baked Banana Cheesecake

Get your fix of cheesy goodness with this amazing recipe. Don’t believe that it’s as good as the real thing? Roll up your sleeves, my friend, and prepare to eat your words. And your cake.

You’ll need:

Base –

50g butter, 75g finely crushed oatcakes, 50g cream crackers, 1 tbsp cocoa, plus extra for dusting, 1 tbsp of very finely chopped salted peanuts, plus 1 tbsp to scatter over (optional)

Topping –

2 small ripe bananas, juice 1 lemon, 2 x 250g tubs ricotta, 200g tub Greek yogurt, 4 large eggs, 1/2 tsp sugar-free vanilla extract, 2 tbsp cornflour, 200ml double cream

To prepare:

Heat oven to 350°F and lightly oil a non-stick loose-based 22cm cake tin. Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the oatcakes, crackers, cocoa and the chopped peanuts until well coated. Press into the base of the tin to make a firm layer, then bake for 10 mins. Remove from the oven and turn up the heat to 420°F

To make the topping, mash the bananas with the lemon juice in a large bowl, then beat in the ricotta, yogurt, eggs, vanilla and cornflour until everything is very well mixed. Pour onto the biscuit base and bake for 10 mins, then turn the oven down to 230°F and cook for an additional 25 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside to cool. When cold, chill for 3-4 hrs.

Healthy Nutella

You read that right, Nutella. The holy grail of all spreadable chocolate snack has had a healthy revamp and I think that you might just like it. Whip up a big batch, too, this is going to be eaten very quickly.

You’ll need:

2 cups of hazelnuts, 1/2 a cup of water, 1/2 a cup of maple syrup, 3 tablespoons of raw cacao powder

To prepare:

Bake the hazelnuts at 350°F for about ten minutes, then take them out of the oven and allow them to cool. Once cool place them in a food processor and blend for about ten minutes, until they’re finely crushed. Once blended, add the maple syrup and cacao and blend again, before gradually pouring in the water.

Indoor S’Mores

Who said that S’Mores were only camp fire material? Not only can they be enjoyed anywhere, any time, they can be a little less of a guilty pleasure. Where do I sign up?

You’ll need:

2 whole graham crackers, broken in half, 4 marshmallows, and 2 tablespoons of melted chocolate chips

To prepare:

Position oven rack in the upper third of the oven; preheat broiler.

Place graham cracker halves on a baking sheet; top each with 1 marshmallow. Broil, with the oven door ajar and watching carefully, until the marshmallows are golden brown, 45 to 75 seconds.

Remove from the oven and drizzle each S’more with a little melted chocolate.

Choco-Nut Popcorn

Enjoy any film with this guilt-free and incredibly good popcorn recipe.

You’ll need:

1 bag of natural popcorn, 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter and Cocoa powder for dusting

To prepare:

Simply heat up a small bag of natural popcorn, top with melted peanut butter and sprinkle with cocoa powder.

Want something a little sweeter? Try swapping the peanut butter for healthy Nutella.

Cinnamon Toast

Sweet beyond belief and healthy to boot? Where do I sign up?

You’ll need:

1 slice of bread, 1/2 teaspoon of butter, 1/4 teaspoon of sugar, Cinnamon (if you want more than one slice, multiply the ingredients).

To prepare:

Pop a slice of bread into the toaster and when hot, top with 1/2 a teaspoon of butter (or a butter substitute) and 1/4 of a teaspoon of sugar, then pile on as much cinnamon as you can take!

Blueberry Frozen Yoghurt

When you’ve got a craving for the frozen stuff and only the sweetest will do, try turning to this recipe instead. It’s sweet, creamy and will make you forget all about that Ben & Jerry’s.

You’ll need:

3 cups of fresh blueberries or 1 lb. of frozen, 3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon), 3/4 – 1 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. cinnamon, 1.5 cups Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup whole milk

To prepare:

Place the blueberries, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan.

Heat on medium heat, stirring, until all of the sugar has dissolved. While the mixture is heating, use a potato masher to mash up the blueberries.

When all of the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Pour into a food processor and pulse a few times, then pour back into the saucepan. Fill a large bowl (big enough to hold the pan) with ice water and sit pan inside it.

Stir in the yogurt and milk until completely incorporated. Chill the mixture until completely cold. Pour the yogurt mixture into your ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Hot Chocolate

When you’re whipping up your favorite night time treat, why not try swapping your regular milk for soy milk or almond milk? With fewer calories and a lot less fat, they more than justify themselves.

You’ll need:

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar (depending on how sweet you like it), Pinch of salt, 1 cup almond or soy milk and 1/4 tsp vanilla extract.

To prepare:

Whisk together the cocoa, sugar, salt, and about 2 tablespoons milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until cocoa and sugar are dissolved.

Whisk in the rest of the milk and heat it over medium heat, whisking occasionally until hot. Stir in the vanilla and serve.

Frozen Grapes

The mother of all sweet, frozen foods, freezer grapes are incredibly simple to prepare and can be used in so many ways

You’ll need:

Grapes on the vine

To prepare:

Freeze grapes by washing, de-stemming and placing them on baking paper. Place the grapes, along with the baking paper, into the freezer. Once frozen, grapes can be transferred to a zip-loc bag or similar.

Pop a handful in a bowl of yoghurt for a quick sorbet pick me up or enjoy solo, straight from the vine.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Pretzels

This one is seriously good and only takes 30 seconds to prepare.

You’ll need:

Chocolate of your preference, one teaspoon of peanut butter and 10 pretzels

To prepare

Heat the chocolate and peanut butter in the microwave for 30 seconds. Dip in your pretzel rods and enjoy! For best results, try refrigerating or freezing the dipped pretzels.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Conquer your chocolate cravings by making it a shell to other, healthier foods. Dipping strawberries in chocolate will give you a chocolate hit with all the benefits of the fruit inside!

You’ll need:

A punnet of strawberries or the fruit of your choice, 1 small bar of dark chocolate

To prepare:

Melt the chocolate to liquid, dip your fruit into the warm chocolate, harden in the fridge for an hour and enjoy!

Dark Chocolate

Choosing chocolate which has at least 70% cacao has all the taste benefits of regular chocolate without all of the nasty health side effects. There are tons of flavor options out there too, if you feel like you want to mix things up.

Nutella Yogurt Dip

For all of you who can’t get enough of the chocolate fountain, try this alternative recipe for Nutella Yogurt Dip. It’s seriously chocolatey and, it turns out seriously good for you!

You’ll need:

1 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup Nutella

To prepare:

Mix the yogurt and Nutella together in a small bowl until completely combined. Refrigerate until ready to use. Serve with fresh cut fruit.

Coconut Macaroons

For when you want to get your Parisian on, try these amazing little macaroons. Satisfy your sweet tooth without the unnecessary guilt.

You’ll need:

1/3 cup coconut butter (sometimes called coconut cream concentrate), 1.5 cups dried sugar-free coconut flakes, 5 tablespoons honey, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 dash sea salt

To prepare:

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a saucepan over low heat, melt coconut butter, add remaining ingredients and stir until evenly combined. The result will be mealy but able to stick together.

Form tablespoon-sized macaroons without packing them too hard. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until outsides have browned slightly.